- Poll: HRM Votes: Mason Gains Ground, Fillmore Still In The Lead
By Andrew Macdonald
A new political poll released by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, and conducted by pollster, Narrative Research shows HRM mayoral contender Waye Mason is making ground, while Andy Fillmore still leads.
This is the third poll since August for the Halifax Chamber.
“Latest results indicate that Andy Filmore continues to lead the polls for Mayor of Halifax with
24% of respondents indicating their preference for Andy Fillmore.”
But Fillmore has slipped 5 points from a mid-September poll.
Since that Sept poll Waye Mason is up 6 per centage points, and in the new poll has 19 per cent support.
Waye Mason, the councillor for Halifax’s downtown core, is running for HRM mayor. (The Notebook).
The poll said Mason “has more support in Halifax and Dartmouth compared with other parts of HRM.”
Pam Lovelace has 12 per centage points in the new poll, the same figure as mid-Sept.
Lovelace “had the biggest bump between the two polls in August and September—has her highest support outside of the urban core communities.”
Pam Lovelace wants to be Mayor of Halifax. (The Notebook).
Lovelace’s radio advertisers remind voters she is the only candidate for mayor from the old Halifax County, while Fillmore and Mason are Halifax Peninsula contenders.
“Jim Hoskins would be preferred as mayor by a small number of the population (4%; up 1 point),” the pollster reports.
Former Halifax Regional Police officer Jim Hoskins is running for HRM mayor. He has previously campaigned to represent Spryfield as a councillor. (The Notebook).
Survey results regarding election issues
“When asked to select three top issues from a pre-determined list of issues (as well as being given the option to add their own issue to the list), in our current poll, the top issue identified was creating better public transit for all of HRM (61%; up 10 points), which, along with other issues related to transportation, indicate that getting around the HRM is important to residents,” said the pollster.
“I am not surprised by the increasing importance of better transit as a concern for residents. Increasing traffic, with more housing units coming on stream is of concern to both residents and business owners,” says Patrick Sullivan, CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
“We are looking forward to the Joint Regional Transportation Agency’s report and the support that both the province and the municipality will provide to transit,” adds Sullivan.
Andy Fillmore is the most preferred candidate in a poll on the HRM mayor’s race. (The Notebook).
“Very close as a top issue was finding suitable housing options for the unhoused (60%; up 1 point), with an additional 1% indicating in an open-ended response that removing homeless encampments / public squatters is important to them in this election,” found Narrative Research.
“Three in ten believe that reducing municipal taxes is important (29%; down 3 points), an issue more important to those living outside of the urban core. A variety of other issues were also identified, including more restrictions on development rules (15%, up 1 point), increasing funding for libraries (9%; down 1 point), more focus on historic preservation of buildings (8%; up 3 points) reducing red tape for businesses (6%; no change), increased funding for recreation (4%; no change) and improving municipal park amenities (2%; down 2 points).”
Survey demographics
“As the election approaches, residents are continuing to become more decisive in their preference for mayor, with just three in ten residents who are unsure of who they would prefer as mayor (32%; down 5 points). Younger residents are much more likely to be undecided as of our survey date and are more likely to state that they would prefer none of the candidates listed,” the pollster reports.
Halifax City Hall. Voting for a new mayor and regional councillors opened on Tuesday, via online and phone voting. The actual voting day is October 19th, 2024. (The Notebook photo).
